Battle lines drawn in WA election campaign

Tim Clarke and Rebecca Le May

Clear battle lines have been drawn in the West Australian election campaign, with a new AFL stadium joining transport as the key issues.

After starting on the front foot with a 10-day lead on the Liberals, the Labor opposition has shown its hand in revealing how it plans to fund its $3.8 billion Metronet rail project.

Labor claimed it could achieve savings of $300 million by shifting the stadium from Burswood to Subiaco, $400 million by scrapping Perth's new museum and $339 million by redirecting money earmarked for the mothballed Oakajee port project.

The idea of squeezing the stadium onto Subiaco's Kitchener Park has been bandied around for years, but the proposal enrages locals, Premier Colin Barnett says.

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Labor claims its $900 million price tag for the venue includes resuming 32 private properties and 66 public housing properties.

By comparison, the Liberals' Burswood option is estimated at $1.242 billion.

While the site is on state government land, it currently is occupied by Burswood Park Golf Course and a compensation deal with its managers has so far been kept confidential.

Some say the $60 million paid by casino mogul James Packer for a 5.8ha portion of the land was a bargain given it's prime riverfront real estate - although it's effectively a covered-over rubbish tip and was discounted by $35 million.

That reason was put forward by Mr Barnett as proof the state government knew how to seal a good deal, adding that remediation issues faced in building the stadium there were "resolvable".

His position on the Kitchener Park option is a far cry from what it was in 2009, when he said the boom state couldn't afford to build a new stadium on a new site and instead tipped the ageing Subiaco ground - now named Patersons Stadium - would be progressively rebuilt.

Mr McGowan labelled the premier a flip-flopper, because he had moved the stadium site four times.

"Had Mr Barnett not been elected, football would be being played at Kitchener Park in 2014," he said.

"We have been through a slippery dip of decisions, and now he comes and says he is the great decision maker."

Mr Barnett insisted a stadium at Burswood could be delivered by 2018, compared to 2020 for Kitchener Park.

Mr McGowan disagreed, saying 18 months of siteworks would be needed before building could start on the Liberals' preferred option.

He also had a problem with building next to Mr Packer's cash cow.

"By building at Burswood, you deliver tens of thousands of West Australians to the casino's doorstep, as opposed delivering them to the proximity of the restaurants, cafes and bars of Subiaco," Mr McGowan said.

"I don't want to see all of those people delivered to one big business."

Treasury officials have told Labor that $31.3 million has already been spent or contracted on planning the Burswood stadium - markedly less than Mr Barnett's claim of about $100 million.

The premier labelled the opposition's Metronet costings as panicked, saying Mr McGowan had no vision and had abandoned the growing capital's most important projects.

"In one day, Mark McGowan, who wants to be premier, has abandoned some of the most important projects in this state for one reason only: because his costings don't add up on his rail projects.